Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Sofa Saga

A while ago I was offered a leather sofa and love seat for my living room. My boss who was offering it to me had it stored in her garage and she needed the space. I already had a nice sofa and love seat but this set was much nicer than mine so I said that if she gave me some time I would sell my furniture and then I would have room for hers. She said alright, so I listed my furniture on craigslist and put the word out to my friends. I wasn't asking much because I wanted to sell the furniture quickly. Several people called about it and I sent pictures, we agreed on times to meet so that they could buy the furniture but they never showed up. Then one day my bosses daughter came to visit her and saw the furniture and liked it. She was moving and needed furniture so my boss let me know that she was giving it to her instead of me. I was disappointed but eventually concluded that that I was happy with my furniture before and I would still be happy.

A couple of months passed and then last week my boss stopped me as I was leaving work and said that her daughter had never picked up the furniture. She asked if I still wanted it and I said yes. The only problem was that she was going on vacation and wanted to move it before they left. Now I had even more of a dead line than before. This time I posted it on freecycle. I also put signs with pictures up by the mail boxes at my apartment and in a nearby laundromat. I gave my email address, and phone number. This time many people called but still no one came for the furniture. Friday night came and I had to have it out by Saturday. By this time I was feeling very frustrated and a little angry. The only thing I was asking was that the new owners move the furniture themselves. I didn't think that was too much to ask since they would be getting a nice living room set for free. I prayed about it and then decided that if it wasn't gone by the time my boss was ready to deliver her furniture then I would put mine out on the curb with a for sale sign. In my neighborhood, I figured it would be stolen in less than an hour.

I woke up late Saturday morning and decided that I would begin moving the furniture as soon as I had had a bracing gourd of maté. Just as I sat down with my maté and my bible, I received a text. The grammar in it was terrible and I spent a few minutes contemplating whether it was some kind of joke. Then I decided to treat it as an answer to prayer since I had just been praying about it and see what happened. The text turned out to be genuine and soon Karine, a young french immersion elementary teacher, was knocking on my door. She was totally blown away by my furniture and couldn't believe that I was giving it to her for nothing. I was warmed by her response and attitude. When I found out that she was alone except for her 10 year old daughter and her mother, I offered to help her load and move the furniture. We had good conversation when I got to her house. Her mother was a very nice woman who spoke no English. With Karine translating and teaching me new French words as she went along, we communicated very well. We agreed to keep in touch and she offered to speak French to me. I am going to have to work on my vocabulary! I am going to enjoy my new friend very much.

As I thought back over the whole event, I realized that my frustration and anger had been wasted. God knew that Karine would need my furniture and I believe that he orchestrated events so that it would be there when she arrived in the US. I am glad to have been a part of this small plan and I am also very happy with my new furniture.